Scripture

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. Genesis 28:20-21Observation
Three times in his prayer Jacob used the word “if”. “If” he said, “if…if…then.” It was an iffy prayer. Jacob would not call the Lord his God until God had proved himself.

His attitude was very different from his grandpa Abraham. Abraham followed promises not explanations. Jacob wanted evidence first. I’ve heard it said that by the third generation after a great religious revival that the grandchildren of those who were saved in the revival build successful lives but have little interest in a heartfelt relationship with the Lord. The first generation know the Lord face to face. The second know the Lord through obligations and rituals. The third generation glean all the benefits of godly living in education and business but they leave the Lord behind.

Unless first a child, or grandchild, loses his parent’s faith and finds his own. Jacob was on a journey that would do just that. He would be swindled, wrestled, and hassled, but years later he would return to Bethel and acknowledge the Lord as his own God.

But he could have taken a better road back to Bethel if he had inverted his prayer. He could have prayed:

Since the Lord is my God, I trust him to watch over me, to give me what I need to live and to bring me safely back home. Abraham lived life that way and could know God as his friend. Jacob prayed iffy prayers and didn’t even know God’s name.

Application
I want to scrub the word “if” from my prayers. It annoyed Jesus. He said, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible for those who believe.”

Prayer
Father, because you are my God, bring your kingdom today. Especially be with my children that they may know you face to face and not second hand. Let them find you as their God. Amen.